Pyrophoric lighter



Dec 26, 1950 R. E. cHERoUvRlER 2,535,529

PYROPHORIC LIGHTER Filed April 2l, 1948 Il z ng 'miami 56 l INVLA/TQR A-r-TcsrNEy Patented Dec. 26, 1950 PYROPHORIC LIGHTER Robert Ernest Chronvrier, Paris, France Application April 21, 1948, Serial No. 22,351 In France May 3, 1947 Claims.

This invention relates to pyrophoric lighters including a friction wheel cooperating with a flint for producing by rubbing the same a bunch of sparks capable of igniting the inflammable vapors evolved from a wick impregnated with a liquid fuel. The invention relates more particularly to lighters of this category belonging tothe type wherein the friction wheel is automatically driven responsive to the opening of the lighter cover.

It is known that the mechanism of lighters of this type and the arrangement of their parts per-y mit only with difficulty to interchange the wick and the flint. Furthermore the flint is generally applied constantly against the friction wheel which results in one end of the flint wearing away unevenly, so that the flint assumes a shape matching that of the friction wheel and the rubbing action of the latter soon becomes much less efficacious so that the operation of the lighter becomes unreliable.

It is also known that lighters of this type are generally lled through the bottom by means of an orifice which communicates with a container in which is placed cotton-wool or another absorbent material in contact with the tail portion of the wick, thereby forming two sources of evaporation for the fuel, namely one downwardly through the filling plug, and another one through the wick itself.

It is an object of the invention to provide an improved pyrophoric lighter remedying the aforesaid disadvantages and comprising a flint which is applied against the friction wheel only during the ignition stage and during the time which is necessary for the production of the bunch of sparks, the int being so arranged as to remain accessible at all times for being changed without requiring the dismantling of any part.

Another object of the invention is to provide al lighter as aforesaid wherein the lling is effected through an orifice provided adjacent the wick and stopped, during the operation of the lighter, by a tight plug so that the wick remain the only source of evaporation of the fuel, the fuel vapors being also utilized for facilitating the ignition.

A further object of the invention is to provide.

a lighter as aforesaid comprising a container the upper wall of which carries all the igniting and engaging a ratchet wheel which drives the friction wheel or owing to the interposition of another suitable member.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a lighter as aforesaid wherein the lling is ensured by means of a plug which provides communication between the container and the atmosphere, this plug also carrying a sleeve for the wick and being extended inside the container to form a body of absorbent material upon which is wound the wick, the latter being guided if necessary by a helical or other carcass, said body being arranged between masses of absorbent material distributed in the container and constituting the wadding which must be soaked with fuel.

Still a further object of the invention is to provide a lighter as aforesaid having such a structure that the wick-carrying body can be removed without requiring the use of any instrument and by a rapid and simple operation, the flint being housed in a member pivoted to the upper cover plate of the container and accommodating a control link system applying said flint against the friction wheel and which is actuated by the coverlike member, one part of which is so shaped as to -act as a cam when the cover is opened.

And a still further object of the invention is to provide a lighter as aforesaid wherein owing to the above-stated structure the change of the int is obtained simply by rocking the spring, the flint being accessible from outside without requiring any instrument, said lighter permitting in a simple manner an effective ignition of the wick also the rapid interchange of the parts to be obtained, all the operative elements being supported by the upper lid plate.

With these and such other objects in view as will incidentally appear hereafter, the invention comprises the novel construction and combination of parts that will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawing exemplifying the same and forming a part of the present disclosure.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the upper portion of the lighter, the arm forming the lid being shown in opened position.

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view through the container along the line II-II of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a part sectional'view of the filling plug and wick-carrying element.

Figure 4 is a sectional view drawn to a larger scale along the line IV-IV of Fig. 1.

The lighter according to the invention com- 3 prises a container I generally of parallelepipedic shape covered with an upper lid 2 upon which are arranged all the operative parts for the ignition and the iilling.

The container l contains inner wadding elements 3 larranged alongside the walls of this container, these elements being made of felt, cotton, asbestos or other suitable absorbent material. This inner wadding or lining 3 delineates in the central region of the container a cylindrical recess 4 in which is received the wick-carrying element 5. This element is constituted by an elongated cylindrical sleeve made of the same material as the lining 3 and in which are formed helical grooves for the insertion of a wick t. The element 5 is secured at its upper end to the lower face of a screw-threaded plug l which, in closed position, engages a correspondingly screwthreaded perforation i3 in the lid 2 of the container I. at its upper end in a peripherally knurled disc 9 and has a vertical bore terminating at its upper end in a socket Iii, said bore being transversely engaged by the wick S. The plug is also provided adjacent its lower end with a small recess II (diagrammatically illustrated in Fig. 3) delineated by an extension of the outer wall or the plug 'l' engaging the outer surface of the upper part of element 5, and in which are wound a few convolutions oi the wick so as to permit the 11! latter partially to be pulled up without the entire structure having to be dismantled. The disc 9 has an oiiset perforation I2 and is provided on its lower face with a gasket I3 having a perforation coinciding with the perforation I2 of the disc 9 for permitting filling oi the container to be eiected as described hereinafter. When the cylindrical element and the plug l lare inserted into the container` by screwing down the plug I into the perforation 8, the disc 9 is applied against the lower shoulder oi a shallow recess I4 provided in the lid 2, the gasket I3 being applied against the lid and ensuring proper tightness. An eccentric perforation I5 permits by coming into coincidence with the perforation I2 in the disc 9 the container to be filled by means of -an ordinary fuel tube and pouring spout. It will be seen that the coincidence between the perforations I2 and I5 is obtained after tightening by imparting to the plug a pivotal motion equal to about one eighth of a revolution in the direction corresponding to its removal.

A longitudinal member it applied against the lid 2 is pivotally supported at Ita and provided adjacent the friction wheel with suitable housing recesses for the int and for its control device, these members being hereafter described.

A lever arm Il forming a cover pivotally carried at I8 is movable in a horizontal plane; it is so shaped as to constitute Iat ie the cap ior the Wick, thereby preventing any evaporation of the fuel, and is furnished at 2t adjacent its end with a slightly convex knurled portion permitting nger control of its pivotal motion. During the closing operation, the arm or cover il is held in position by a boss 2i on the lid 2, said boss engaging a corresponding boss on the arm il. Adjacent its hinge, the arm i? terminates in a horizontal plate 22 so shaped at 23 to act camwise and operatively connected to a resilient open washer 24 acting as a pawl upon the ratchet-like lower face 25 of a friction wheel 2t pivotally c-arried at I8. The pivots Ita and I3 are interconnected by a iish plate 21.

The device for controlling the pressure of the The screw-threaded plug lI terminates iiint against the friction wheel 26 is constituted in the following manner as shown in Fig. 4. In the member I6 are formed a pair oi blind holes 28, 29 communicating at Sti at their rear ends.

The iiint SI is accommcdated partly in the blind hole 28 and is subjected to the action of a plunger 32 secured to the end of a spiral spring 33 one end of which is operatively connected to a lever 34 pivoted at 35 to a horizontal pin, the other arm of the lever being connected to a link 36 terminating in a plunger 31 abutted to the cam 23 of the arm Il. A spiral spring 38 is provided for constantly urging the plunger 3'1 back into Contact with the cam 23.

The operation of the device which has just been described is as follows:

In order to ignite the lighter, the arm I1 is rocked leftwardly, for example by means of the thumb finger, whereupon this arm drives, owing to the rotation of its plate 22, the pawl washer 2li and the friction wheel 253. At the same time, the cam 23 operates the plunger 3l and shifts the link 36 against the spring 3B and rocks the lever 34, thereby applying the iiint EI against the friction wheel 2t. A. bunch or" sparks is thereby produced, which ignites the wick t, the latter having just been disengaged from the cap I il responsive the pivotal motion oi the arm I7, the fuel vapors which have gathered adjacent the wick when the lighter was left inoperative facilitating the ignition. When the cam 23 has moved beyond the intern ediate portion in which it exerts upon the plunger 3'! a given pressure, this plunger is returned to its original position under the action of the spring 38. In order to change the flint Si, it is only suihcient to rock the member I5 about its pivot lila, whereby the flint becomes accessible at once.

In order to ll the lighter, the disc 9 is rotated to the approximate extent of one eighth of a revolution so as to bring the periorations I2, I5 into coincidence, thereby providing an aperture permitting direct filling. When it is desired to change the wick, it is only suiiicient to unscrew the disc 9 to the full extent and to disengage the plug 'I and the wick-carrying cylinder 5 from the container. This can be done easily when the arm Il is in open position.

Obviously modiiications may be introduced in the constructional form as described without departing from the scope of the invention. Thus the disc 9 might have a larger diameter than the one shown on the drawing, the said disc being also partly covered by the member I6, the disengagement of this disc being rendered possible only after a pivotal motion of said member I5. There might also be prozided in the upper plate of the lighter and in the screw-threaded plug a bore adapted to permit the iilling of the container. It is also obvious that a resilient control member may be interposed in the cover so as to permit the same to be nivo-ted to open position after withdrawing the same from its closed position.

Minor constructional details of the lighter may vary without departing from the scope of the subjoined claims and it should be remembered that the words used to define each of the operating membersof the lighter such as flint friction wheel and wick should be construed in a broad sense involving mechanical equivalencies and not in a restrictive sense.

What is claimed is:

1. A pyrophoric lighter comprising a fuel container Wadded with an absorbent material and s providing a recess, said container being closed by a lid, an aperture in said lid, coinciding with said recess, a wick-carrying element made of absorbent material and removably located in said recess, a Wick supported by said element, means on said element for engaging the wick, a plug mounted on the upper part of said element for engaging said aperture, a perforation in said plug for,

enabling the Wick to project from the lid, a friction wheel mounted on said lid, means for controlling the rotation of said friction wheel, a spark-producing flint, and means for automatically applying said ilint against said friction wheel when rotating the same.

2. A pyrophoric lighter comprising a fuel container wadded with an absorbent material and providing a cylindrical recess, said container being closed by a lid, an aperture in said lid coinciding with said recess, a cylindrical wickcarrying element made of absorbentJ material and removably located in said recess, a wick wound around said element, means on said element for receiving said wick, a plug mounted on the upper part of said element for engaging said aperture, a perforation in the plug for enabling the wick to project from the lid, a recess in the upper portion of said element under said perforation for receiving a few convolutions of said wick, a friction Wheel mounted on said lid, means for controlling the rotation of said friction wheel, a spark-producing flint, and means for automatically applying said ilint against said frictionwheel when rotating the same.

3. A pyrophoric lighter oomprisinga fuel container wadded with an absorbent material and providing a recess, said container being closed by a lid, an aperture in said lid coinciding with said recess, a wick-carrying element made of absorbent material and removably located in said recess, a wick wound around said element, means on said element for retaining said wick, -a plug mounted on the upper part of said element for engaging said aperture, a perforation in said plug for enabling the wick to project from the lid, a recess in the upper portion of said element under said perforation for receiving a few convolutions of said wick, -a friction wheel pivotally mounted on said lid, means for rotating said friction wheel, a spark-producing flint, an L-shaped flint receiving member pivotally supported by said lid, the shorter leg of said member being located transversely to said container, a recess in said transverse leg for receiving the ilint, and means located in said recess for automatically applying said flint against the friction wheel when rotating the same.

4. A pyrophoric lighter comprising a fuel container wadded With an absorbent material and providing a recess, said container being closed by a lid, a wick-carrying element made of absorbent material and removably located in said recess, a wick wound around said element, means on said element for retaining said Wick, a perforation in said lid, a plug mounted on the upper part of said element for engaging said perforation, a second perforation in said plug for enabling the wick to project from the lid, a re- 6 cess in the upper portion of said element under said perforation for receiving a few convolutions of said wick, a friction wheel pivotally mounted on said lid, a cover for the wick projecting end, pivotally mounted on said lid about the axis of said friction wheel, means on said cover for engaging said friction Wheel and for rotating the same when opening said cover, -a spark-producing ilint, an L-shaped flint receiving member pivotally supported by said lid, the shorter leg of said member being located transversely to said container, a recess in said leg for accommodating the flint, and means for automatically applying said flint against said friction-wheel when rotating said cover.

5. A pyrophoric lighter comprising a fuel container wadded with an absorbent vmaterial and providing a recess, said container being closed by a lid, an aperture in Said lid, a wick-carrying element made of absorbent material and removably located in said recess, a wick wound around said element, means on said element for retaining the wick, a plug mounted on the upper part of said element for engaging said aperture, a perforation in said plug for enabling the wick to project from the lid, a friction wheel pivotally mounted on said lid, a cover for the wick projecting end, pivotally mounted on said lid about the yaxis 0f said friction wheel, means on said cover for engaging said friction wheel and for rotating the same when opening said cover, a spark-producing flint, an L-shaped flint receiving member pivotally supported by said lid, the shorter leg of said member being located transversely to said container, a recess in said leg for receiving the flint, a two-arm lever pivotally supported in said recess, a helical spring interposed between said lever and said flint, 'a cam shaped projection on said cover protruding towards said recess, Iand a plunger interposed between said lever and said cam shaped projection so as to rock said lever and to apply said flint against said friction wheel when opening and closing said cover.

ROBERT ERNEST CHEROUVRIER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,074,555 McIntyre Sept. 30, 1918 1,662,058 Hargraft Mar. 13, 1928 1,764,896 Segal June 17, 1930 2,258,085` Bolle Oct. 7, 1941 2,403,589 Dritz July 6, 1946 2,444,663 Miller July 6, 1948 2,451,515 Simon et al. Oct. 19, 1948 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 49,338 Austria Aug. 10, 1911 143,094 Switzerland Oct. 31, 1930 318,274 Germany Jan. 19, 1920 805,947 France Sept. 14, 1936 

